Runner, writer, wife & mother

Number 2: “Roller Coaster with a Loop”

“Mommy, want to know a goal I want to set for myself when I’m older?” said Judah. I replied, “Sure, what?” Judah continued, “I want to breed lizards and birds until I come up with the first real dragon. I’m not sure how I’ll get the fire part, but wouldn’t a dragon be cool?” Through tearful laughter, I said, “Yes, I suppose it would be.”

Apparently this list making business has gotten Judah thinking about the future and all his life long ambitions.

Since the first 11 items were given a time limit, we’ve had no time to dawdle. We’ve been able to get all our other items thus far completed within our own town, but there are no roller coasters with a loop in Wichita, so in order to cross off number 2, we had to hit the road.

We had to take our car in for hail dent repair the day before our trip and due to some poor customer service, the rental company wanted to make up for it by loaning us the best car on the lot. Our whirlwind weekend was classed up with a bright blue 2012 convertible Mustang. Kind of made the whole YLOO mission feel more legit, well Judah sure thought so.

Our Road Trip Ride

I wasn’t even out of the shower on Saturday morning when Kenton alerted me to come see what was happening outside. Judah was more than a bit excited to get going for his first trip to an amusement park.

Judah was really anxious to get going

We had to burst his bubble and tell him to come in. It was going to be just a few more minutes before the adventure could begin.

We rolled into Kansas City and went directly to Worlds of Fun. This was where Kenton and I both had our first roller-coaster-with-a-loop experiences as children. We both looped for the first time on The Orient Express. We would have taken Judah on The Orient Express to pass on the “first time” tradition, but it no longer exists much to our surprise. But never fear, there are plenty of other loops at Worlds of Fun. In the parking lot, Judah said, “were actually here!” His anticipation had not dwindled since he woke that morning.

“We’re Actually Here!” – Judah

We decided that we’d head straight for a loop just in case one of us might get sick, at least it would be crossed off. You see, this was a real concern because much to my surprise I got sick this fall at the state fair after riding a midway ride. I’ve never gotten sick on a ride in my life. We used to ride every coaster in the park over and over. I used to pick on my mom because she wouldn’t ride coasters with us claiming they made her sick.

Waiting with anticipation for The Patriot

Still I assumed the fair was a fluke and I’d be just fine. I made sure to only have a smoothie, nothing solid, hours prior and I made sure I hydrated. I was set.

When we were nearly to the front of the line, the boy was overjoyed.

First Loop, Comin’ up!

We went straight to The Patriot. A 2 minute ride that goes 65 mph and includes “Seven gravity-defying elements, including an 89-foot vertical loop, a zero-gravity roll, an Immelman loop, an inclined banked curve, an s-curve, a corkscrew, and a high speed spiral.” This would get the job done. We waited in the long line in the crazy heat. Judah was getting so excited he could barely stand it. Finally, our turn to load came. Once the bars went down I had the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve never feared a roller coaster, ever. I’ve also never locked my one and only child, the one I carried in my womb, into an insanely dangerous ride. Before I knew it we were going and while I loved every turn and loop, before each one I prayed very fervently that my baby would be ok, then I would commence screaming with joy.

Number 2: “Roller Coaster with a Loop” – CHECK!

Before I knew it we were done and Judah was just fine and exclaiming how awesome that ride was. I told Kenton, “game on” because I felt fine and was ready to enjoy our day at the park.

Great family pic, right? The Prowler was a blast!

We made a plan to hit all the major rides and then worry about the little ones. We chose to go left and make a big loop. How I wish we’d gone right. We rode the newest coaster, The Prowler and loved it. Next up was The Boomerang. This is where my day took a turn. The Boomerang has loops and twists like all the others, however Boomerang lives up to it’s name and stops at the end of the track only to repeat the entire ride in reverse. Apparently, while I can handle coasters, I can’t handle a coster in reverse.

Kenton had his camera rolling from his pocket during this ride. The audio is hilarious, but if you listen closely you’ll hear me say, “that one hurt..” Hurt meant “messed me up.”

Long story short, that was my last coaster of the day. Had we gone right, it would have been one of the last and I’d probably been fine. Instead I had to go sit down and try to “breath it off.” We decided to ride Fury of the Nile, a simple raft ride, thinking it would cool me off and give me time to settle my stomach. Yeah, that turned into me nearly ralphing on some nice strangers as I ran off the ride the second we stopped. I made it to the bathroom and lost my battle with the roller coasters.

3 Coasters = 4 Ralphs. Sheesh.

I had all the sympathy in the world for my mother and felt terrible for ever picking on her. I sat on a ledge while Kenton and Judah went and continued having the time of their lives. I loved that he wasn’t scared. I saw myself in him that day. I was a fearless little girl and was just heartbroken that my stomach turned against me that day.

I lost my battle a few more times that afternoon, but kept a good spirit the entire time. Judah’s joy over riding the rides brought joy to my heart.

I love that he got to experience roller coasters and LOVED them! That’s my boy!

I vowed I wasn’t done with coasters just yet. I declared I’ll start taking motion sickness meds and avoid any reverse rides. I can’t be too old for coasters, not yet!

This was a great day, lots of memories, and lots of laughs. Some at my expense, but I couldn’t blame them.